This invention relates to apparatus for transferring RF signals between a plurality of RF signal inputs and a plurality of outputs, and more particularly, but not exclusively for transferring RF signals from a series of broadcast channels on a direct broadcast satellite to a series of transmitting antennas.
It may be required to use a direct broadcast satellite to broadcast a large number of T.V. channels (say 10) to a number of different coverage areas. It may not be known before launch which channels are to be directed over which coverage areas and it may be necessary to change the routing configuration between the channels and the transmitting antennas during the lifetime of the satellite. The principle of providing a direct broadcast satellite which may be reconfigured in this manner is known, but there have been no proposals as to how such a system might be constructed. In the specific description there is oulined a method proposed by the Applicants and using conventional approaches whereby a reconfigurable system could be provided using a switching network. Because such a system would require many switches to set up the required routing configurations, the system would be heavy, require many telecommand and telemetry lines and would have a substantial path loss for each route between input and output.